Joseph K. McLaughlin Lecture 

# *How to Be a Dictator*

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Date and Time 

September 24, 2019 6 - 7 PM EDT 

Location 

Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring the author **Frank Dikötter**, Chair Professor of Humanities, University of Hong Kong, and Author, *Mao’s Great Famine*. 

[[![Media Name: how-to-be-a-dictator-cover.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/images/how-to-be-a-dictator-cover.jpg?itok=lIzOWRZj)](/sites/cato.org/files/images/how-to-be-a-dictator-cover.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Dictator-Personality-Twentieth/dp/1635573793)

In his forthcoming book *How to Be a Dictator*, Frank Dikötter examines the cults and propaganda surrounding twentieth-century dictators, from Hitler and Stalin to Mao Zedong and Kim II Sung. These men were the founders of modern dictatorships, and they learned from each other and from history to build their regimes and maintain their public images. Their dictatorships, in turn, have influenced leaders in the 21st century, including Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

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